This post is part of the “Don’t Avert Your Eyes” series here at Celebrity Psychings. Learn more about how Joaquin Phoenix prompted this weeklong series, and don’t forget to stop back by – it’s running until Friday, March 27!
Remember when I told you about my therapist friend who says she always pays attention to what her clients’ family members and friends say about them? There’s a reason for that: These people – these family members and friends and sometimes even coworkers – spends way more time with clients than therapists spend with clients; therefore, it’s usually pretty easy for these people to notice when someone close to them starts exhibiting signs of potential mental health problems.
It’s easier for these people to see how the person acts when the person is in his or her normal environment and not being scrutinized by a professional, and sometimes they even notice the signs before the person in question notices them.
But what exactly are the “signs of potential mental health problems”?
Changes in appetite, behavior, appearance, sleeping routines - most of us know these common warning signs or symptoms of mental health problems, and regurgitating what so many mental health websites already provide would be pointless and probably pretty insulting to your Googling skills; however, providing you with more specific resources might just come in handy given that Googling “mental illness symptoms” brings up around 13,400,000 results.
Warning Signs Throughout the Ages: In addition to a wealth of information about how to cope when what “happens to someone else” actually happens to one of your own, Mental Health America’s Factsheet: Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope provides lists of mental illness warning signs for young children, older children and adolescents, and adults.
Warning Signs for Specific Illnesses: With Symptoms and Treatments of Mental Disorders, PsychCentral’s John M. Grohol, Psy.D. presents lists of symptoms to look for based not only on age, but also on each specific mental health issue. (This one’s definitely bookmark worthy.)
Warning Signs On the Go: Okay, these warning signs aren’t exactly on the go, but because they come in a book, you can carry them with you while you are. Dr. James Whitney Hicks’s 50 Signs of Mental Illness: A Guide to Understanding Mental Health is written using easy-to-understand terms and each chapter is dedicated to a particular symptom; you simply visit the chapter of the symptom you’re noticing and read up on it’s possible causes. Plus, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), when you buy this book “a portion of your purchase will benefit people with mental illness.”
Keep in mind that just because a person might seem like s/he’s displaying symptoms of mental illness doesn’t necessarily mean the person has a mental illness. Situations like the death of a loved one, job loss, and overall bad news can cause a person to act in such a way that might suggest mental illness; the same can be said for exciting situations.
You can generally tell the difference, though, by familiarizing yourself with these symptoms, as well as paying attention to how long the changed behavior lasts and how it affects the person’s day-to-day life.
Tomorrow we’ll take a look at what to say to someone you suspect might be dealing with a mental illness. In the meantime, has there been a time when someone you know has displayed symptoms of mental health problems? How did you handle it?
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When my daughter was going through her first manic episode and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder I kept a small note book handy. I would write down the time and everything she did that was off. She talked about seeing and hearing things also. I wrote down everything and gave the notebook to the doctor on our next visit. I didn’t tell her what i had wrote down. She would just get defensive and insist that she was the normal one and everyone else was crazy.
Thank you for saying this, Alicia. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 23 but for years before that my friends watched me spinning out of control. After I was diagnosed (during an epic manic period) and was stabilized a lot of my friends said “oh, that makes so much sense” when I told them about my diagnosis. I don’t blame anyone for not recognizing it but I do wonder what my college years might have been like if I’d been stable. I have a daughter now and I am afraid for her that she might be bipolar like me, but she will have someone watching out for her who knows what to look for.
I love this blog - I’m totally following everything you say about Grey’s Anatomy!
@ Hannah - You’re welcome, and thanks for chiming in with your story!
Your daughter is very lucky to have someone knowledgeable about mental health issues like bipolar disorder in her life. Too often people - family members included - turn and look the other way because they don’t want to think someone they care about is “sick” or “different.” This only leads to more problems, and I’m glad your daughter has someone looking out for her 
What did you think about Grey’s last week? Personally, I thought Shonda (or whomever wrote the episode) did a fantastic job! And Kevin McKidd is so good as Owen Hunt! I was really proud of Cristina, right up until the end; yet, her fear is normal and I know that has to be portrayed. I’m anxious to see how it all pans out
@ Brenda - That is EXCELLENT advice and I’m sure it came in very handy when you visited the doctor. What a caring and insightful mother you are!
P.S. Great blog, by the way.
@Alicia - I tivo’d Grey’s and I just finally watched it last night. So good! I love Cristina and I honestly could not figure out why she wanted to take on Owen’s problems in the first place. I thought her choice at the end was a smart act of self-preservation, it seemed like the reality of his illness hit her all at once. I keep thinking that her ability to deal with Owen (up to know) must come from somewhere in her past - like Alex’s ability to cope with Rebecca because he had seen his mom through something similar. I love the Owen went to Shepherd for help, I think those two are going to help each other heal. We’ll see, I love when we get to discover little secrets about the characters. I wish the Izzie storyline would resolve! There are far more interesting things going on around her.
@ Hannah - I’m glad you enjoyed it! It was Grey’s in prime form, I believe (you know - more interesting storylines and less ghost lovin’, lol).
Yeah, Cristina’s a “fixer.” You know how being a bit unemotional is kind of her deal, so the way I see it is she saw a “problem” with Owen and decided to look at it as just another thing to tackle and fix (kind of like when Izzie confided in her about the cancer), but then at the end it probably hit her that she didn’t know how to “fix” it and, in the meantime, the possibility of a repeat of that night he blacked out was just too scary for her. I really liked how she pointed out to Meredith that people wouldn’t ignore or leave someone over physical injuries, so why should his mental injuries be any different? (In your face Meredith! LOL, she gets on my nerves.)
I also really liked how Derek stepped up and offered his help. I’m anxious to see what that scan reveals.
I agree with you about Izzie, too - the storyline is tiring out and I’m looking forward to some resolve. You know, one thing I never understood about all that - the cancer had spread to her brain, and that’s why she was having the hallucinations; however, when she finally told “Hallucination Denny” to get lost, he did. What? You can’t just tell a hallucination to leave and have it actually leave, can you? I don’t know, but it seems to me if it was an actual tangible, physical thing causing the hallucination (the cancer in her brain), then she couldn’t just mentally will the hallucinations to go away. Gah, who knows. (Well, doctors, I’m sure, haha.)
One thing I’m hoping the remainder of this Izzie storyline offers is a chance for Alex to shine. He’s such a jerk most of the time, but really crappy, stressful situations seem to be the times when he really mans up. I think we’re due some nice Alex, lol.
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